


standing on the edge of returning or just running away

by chancellorxofxtrash



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Are You Ready? A Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains Anthology, Forgiveness, Guilt, Kissing, M/M, SOLtiS Flame (Yu-Gi-Oh), SOLtis Windy (Yu-Gi-Oh), Windy is a brat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29608518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chancellorxofxtrash/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Coming back to life was not really an experience Windy was missing. I mean, no, technically he didn’t want to be dead. Who wanted to be dead? Definitely not Windy. Dying seemed like a concept best-suited for… well, living beings. Fleshy beings. Not beings who were effectively immortal, or well, should be immortal. Strings of data, predominantly. Not fleshy and squishy.But even the strings of data could be snuffed out, apparently. And it was still painful.
Relationships: Flame/Windy (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	standing on the edge of returning or just running away

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Ignis Anthology Zine, you can find details about it here!
> 
> https://twitter.com/CyberseLove

Coming back to life was not really an experience Windy was missing. I mean, no, technically he didn’t want to be dead. Who wanted to be dead? Definitely not Windy. Dying seemed like a concept best-suited for… well,  _ living  _ beings. Fleshy beings. Not beings who were effectively immortal, or well, should be immortal. Strings of data, predominantly. Not fleshy and squishy.

But even the strings of data could be snuffed out, apparently. And it was still painful.

The painful part was not news to Windy. It was easy to realise that he could feel pain even in the digital world. After all, the digital world was  _ their  _ world, and they had learned everything from humans - humans who  _ could  _ feel real pain in their world.

Part of Windy sometimes thought that maybe it was the first thing they learnt from them. After all, their origins felt pain a  _ lot  _ when the Ignis were created - it makes sense that they would learn of that first, right?

If you were to ask Windy, he would have said he would have done just fine  _ without  _ learning how to feel pain.

But they did learn it, so they could feel it.

Nevertheless, pain was something he was used to. From smaller falls and minor injuries back in Cyberse, to being hit by the destruction caused by various monsters.

Being impaled, a virus eating away at his body when he couldn’t even scream.

Being set on fire.

Yeah, Windy knew what pain was.

Compared to that, coming back to life was not that painful. Sure, his body was in pain when he got brought back, but only for a short while. Only before they got rid of all the traces of the virus from his body. The pain from that was mostly gone, but he  _ remembered  _ it, and an Ignis’ memory was different from a human’s.

More vivid. It was all data, after all. Data they stored away, unable to forget.

_ Remembering  _ was extremely vivid because of that as well. So Windy tried not to remember.

It didn’t work.

Obviously.

He remembered more than the pain, though.

The pain he could have dealt with. Pain was temporary, as bad as it got, it went away sooner or later. The physical pain went away (as much as they could be called  _ physical.  _ The digital equivalent of physical, for the lack of a better word).

The  _ memories  _ themselves, those were harder to escape from.

Obviously he remembered a lot of things. Good things - great things, even! The way the wind blew in Cyberse, how amused he was whenever he would get on the others’ nerves. It was all in good fun, and the expressions on their faces were always amusing - and besides, it wasn’t like they couldn’t dish back out what they got - there was one especially spectacular situation where Aqua had to intervene in the escalating prank war between Windy, Ai, and…

…

Anyways.

He remembered the thrill of dueling, how much he enjoyed it. He remembered the enjoyment he got out of crafting his deck, building his monsters out of data material. He remembered how  _ fun  _ it was, making enemies think they had a chance, just for him to get the upper hand either way. Duelling was a great way to pass time in Cyberse, and a great way to just… have fun.

These memories were ones Windy liked to think of, recalling them was pleasant - and he could always recall them as vividly as he needed to. Sure, they were just data, but Windy himself was just data as well.

These memories were not the only ones he had, though.

~*~

Windy was not completely certain of how he was brought back to life. He knew Playmaker was involved, which probably meant that he was now indebted to Playmaker to some degree. That part he didn’t like to think about. He also didn’t like to think about how Ai was still often attached to Playmaker.

Because thinking of Playmaker…

Windy let out a hiss, fixing up his own jacket - yeah, he had a jacket. Ai got him a SOLtiS body not long after he came back to life, and Windy figured it was convenient.

The human world had some real, objective, tangible drawbacks compared to the digital world (Windy thought that the weather could get unreasonably hot, like who wanted to boil alive? Apparently the humans who liked to lie down on the beach, that’s who), but on the other hand…

The wind was nice in the human world as well. And he supposed the human bodies weren’t that bad either.

Windy picked out sort of elegant clothes for himself with a long, green coat and high boots - his coat having darker green patterns. His hair was messy, long and in a ponytail, resembling the way his real body’s head looked like.

It was fine, it worked for getting around, Windy figured.

The city itself wasn’t terrible either - it was nowhere near as good as Link VRAINS, and especially not anywhere close to Cyberse, but it was nice. Personally he wouldn’t prefer living there permanently, but worked for what it was.

He knew a lot of the others liked to hang around the plaza - and fine, he could understand why. People liked  _ hotdogs,  _ but even the smell of coffee made his face turn into a grimace; he couldn’t even imagine how it must have tasted.

Either way, he didn’t go there often.

He knew the others did. He also knew all of them were either close to their human origins, or at least made peace with them. Windy knew all of that.

But…

~*~

He remembered.

His… what should he call him? The others called them their partners, but they had never been partners. Windy only spoke with him once, and then he told Windy he wanted nothing to do with him, so he left. That was supposed to be it.

But it wasn’t it.

And Windy couldn’t help but remember.

He remembered the sounds. The loud crash. The scream. The fire and the way the car was breaking down, and despite how quickly he needed to get out of there, he also remembered the rush of satisfaction and glee running through his body.

He remembered _ liking it. _

~*~

There was a screech of tires next to him, and Windy couldn’t help but jump away from the edge of the sidewalk.

(There were no screeching tires back then. The car’s AI was trying desperately to slow down, but Windy stopped its attempts with ease, making it go quiet, turning it off. He was stronger.)

“Hey, what do you think you’re do--”

His words stopped in his throat as he realised that it was a bike that stopped next to him, with its engine purring loudly. It took him a few more seconds to realise who was riding said bike.

All-leather outfit, black, with red flame patterns, red scarf around his neck. As he raised his hands (covered by fingerless gloves), a sense of dread rose up in Windy’s stomach, and he desperately wanted to run before the biker would take off his helmet.

And yet, his legs wouldn’t move, he just watched as the rider take off his helmet, uncovering his messy, spiky, red-and-blue hair. Similar to Soulburner’s, although slightly longer, and his bright orange eyes focusing on Windy.

“Long time no see, Windy.”

~*~

He remembered. He remembered laughing, he remembered the power surging through his body, how it felt to want to  _ destroy  _ Soulburner, and along with Soulburner…

He remembered hating Flame. Hating Flame for allying himself with humans, hating him for standing on the opposite side. He remembered the burning  _ hatred,  _ remembered wanting nothing more than to destroy him, to sweep them all away, until nothing was left, not a single speck of data.

He remembered that hatred overflowing him, and how  _ satisfying  _ it was to rip him apart from the inside, to taunt him with killing both him and Soulburner, and…

And yet.

And yet, Flame was here.

~*~

“What are you doing here, Flame? Not to mention you drive like a maniac. Also you stopped on the sidewalk. You gonna hold up traffic.”

“What traffic? There is no one here.”

Indeed, there wasn’t.

Windy huffed and shrugged, turning away.

“The traffic of me going away from here.”

He started to walk away, but felt a hand on his wrist, making him stop.

“Get on.”

“Huh?! You drive like a maniac.”

“And since when did speed bother you?”

“Well breaking this body would be  _ annoying,”  _ Windy huffed again, but Flame just pulled him closer, making him falter and almost fall over. “Hey! Let me go!”

“Come with me,” Flame’s voice was more gentle now. “I want to show you something. Besides, you  _ do  _ want to try out speeding around don’t you?”

Windy puffed up his cheeks, turning away.

“You wouldn’t let me drive either way.”

“Obviously. But you can still enjoy the speed. Come on. This is the closest you can get to riding around on the data storm out here.”

~*~

“And how am I supposed to enjoy the wind with a helmet on, genius? This is false advertising.”

“What if something happens, you just said this body getting hurt would still be annoying. Put it on and quit your whining.”

Windy pouted, putting the helmet on as Flame put his own back on as well. Then, Windy hesitated.

He figured he would have to hold on, because physics was needlessly cruel and  _ unfair _ . He couldn’t control physics out here, like he could in the digital world… and then Flame just reached back, grabbing his hands, and putting them around his waist.

Oh.

Oh well.

Flame started the engine and drove off - there was a loud noise, the wind blowing into his ears, and it made Windy forget everything that troubled him.

He straightened his back, raising his head - his face was not covered by the helmet, so Windy just closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his skin, his hands still holding Flame’s waist, keeping his balance.

And he just enjoyed it.

~*~

“Isn’t this Revolver’s place?”

“Close to it,” Flame admitted, getting off from the bike after Windy had already hopped off and looked around. “But it’s not like he is home. He spends all his time on his boat lately.”

“Are we vandalizing his home? Oooh, fun.”

“We could, but that is not why I brought you up here.”

“Then why?”

“Because this was the only thing I could think of to make you talk with me.”

“Well, we are talking. You happy now?”

“You have been avoiding me, Windy.”

There it was.

Windy did not look at Flame, and he just heard the other Ignis take a deep breath - which was stupid. Very stupid. They didn’t need to breathe, and yet.

“Windy…”

“If you say that it’s alright, that everything is fine and dandy and that you forgive me, so help me Flame, I  _ will throw you into the sea. _ ”

Windy heard how sharp his voice was, but still didn’t look at Flame. Didn’t look back.

What was his expression like? He had no idea. Was he angry? Disgusted? Full of hatred?

Or… worse.

Maybe it was gentle, and forgiving and…

“Are you going to pull your head out of your wallowing and let me have a say in this stupid, self-imposed exile of yours?”

...that didn’t sound gentle.

He spun around, eyes wide, and Flame’s face was more annoyed, than anything.

“Yes, you did awful things. But it also wasn’t  _ you. _ So that’s why it’s stupid.”

“You don’t get i---”

“I was  _ there,  _ Windy. I know.”

“No, you don’t!” Windy snapped, flailing with his arms. “I remember everything. All of it. And I remember enjoying it. Every single moment of it, I revelled in it, I enjoyed being like that. I liked the thrill, and when I---”

He stopped, eye dropping to Flame’s chest.

It was stupid.

(Flame wasn’t even in his usual body now. And yet, his eyes dropped.)

Flame moved quickly, and then grabbed Windy’s hand, pulling it over his chest.

There was no heartbeat, but the message was clear.

“I’m fine.”

“You weren’t!” Windy snapped, feeling his eyes swell up. Stupid android bodies. No heartbeat but they could still get teary? Whoever designed them should have been fired. He ought to tell Zaizen. “... You weren’t. And it was me who did it.”

“And you weren’t yourself. And I am fine. So there are no problems here, right?”

“How can you be fine?! That’s stupid. If I remember, so do you, and I---”

“Do you hate Lightning?”

The words stopped in Windy’s throat, and he looked to the side.

He knew what he should answer.

And he also knew what the truth was.

So he didn’t say a word, and Flame understood.

“Neither do I. But he was the one who made you into what you were - so why are you so intent on me having to hate you if you don’t hate Lightning either?”

“...Flame…”

His voice was weak, and Flame pulled him closer comfortingly. Windy let him, and Flame’s arms wrapped around him, holding him tight..

“It’s okay.”

“You said you would never forgive me. You said it yourself.”

“I didn’t know then what I know now. Besides… even if you had been yourself, I don’t think I could keep hating you. I don’t think… any of us can hate each other for long. I guess that’s a perk of there only being only six of us, and having lost each other previously before. We just… can’t.”

He felt Flame’s fingers in his hair, and he didn’t want to move. He still didn’t move when he felt Flame’s lips on the top of his head.

Windy only moved when Flame pulled a bit away, caressing Windy’s face, pressing their lips together softly.

“It’ll be alright,” He whispered into the kiss, and Windy just closed his eyes, enjoying this closeness.

He couldn’t have said how long they had been standing there.

“I think we should go back. Are you coming to the hot dog stand? It is a very cozy place, actually. Doesn’t look it, but it is.”

Windy nodded numbly - even though he absolutely had his doubts. How could that place be cozy?

Anyway.

More pressing matters.

“Can I drive on our way back?”

“No way.”

“Hey! Come on! You ruined the mood!”

“I’m not letting you break my bike.”

“Is that even your bike, or is it Soulburner’s?”

“...I won’t let you break the bike. Get your own.”

Windy was still huffing when he got on the bike behind Flame, putting his helmet back on.

And this time he didn’t hesitate to put his arms around Flame’s waist.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
